Researchers from the University of Cambridge have discovered that a Venezuelan pitcher plant uses wettable hairs to create a water slide that causes insect to slide to their deaths. The researchers found that the Heliamphora nutans pitcher plants trap many more ants when the hairs, called trichomes, are wet (88%) than when they are dry (29%). The pitcher plant is located in the Guyana Highlands in Southern Venezuela. The researchers also say the plant can use a wicking method to pull moisture from its bowl to help wet the hairs during period of little rain.

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Nina Sen

Nina Sen is a frequent contributor to Live Science’s Life’s Little Mysteries series: an exploration and explanation of our world’s phenomena, both natural and man-made. She also writes astronomy photo stories for Live Science's sister site Space.com.